Sunday, January 25, 2009

To my left, a tuxedoed man tips his fedora back on his head and slides an arm around a blonde in a birdcage-veiled hat. A flash illuminates their pearly white camera-ready smiles. To my right, a gentleman in a three-piece suit pulls the seat out for his wife as they settle at a round cocktail table to wait for the “USO Show” to begin. A dame in cat’s eye glasses weaves through the dense crowd on roller skates offering chocolates. In the center of the room a legion of swing dancers lindy hop in acrobatic time with ‘40s-era swing spun by cocktail historian and Boston legend, DJ Brother Cleve.

One step across the threshold into the grand ballroom of the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center feels like a leap several decades back to a USO Officer’s Club, circa World War II. This is the LUPEC Boston “USO Show”, the centerpiece of our fall fundraising campaign to benefit women at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. I never imagined we’d reach the venue’s 450-person capacity, but now the room seems almost full. And every single guest is dressed to impress.

Doors to the event opened at 7 p.m. with a free swing dance lesson kicking off the night. Then emcees Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree of the critically acclaimed New York-based sketch comedy burlesque Two Girls for Five Bucks took the stage. Burlesque dancers from Thru the Keyhole turned up the heat with pink balloons and feathers, followed by a short break to cool off and grab a drink before act two featuring Boston-based actor, improviser and stand-up comedian Harry Gordon as Bob Hope and a rowdy prize raffle.The wait for the bar is long from 8 o’clock on but the vibe remains positive. Perhaps it’s because the swing dancers are dancing in the hallway to lighten the mood? A sailor twirls a tall, slender brunette: the top of her stocking peeks ever-so-slightly from below her hemline as she dips. Distracting in the best possible way.

When the clock strikes 11 p.m. the crowd is in no rush to leave. I can’t blame them. The LUPEC ladies spend lots of time talking about the cocktails: the ingredients, the preferred recipes, the obscure bitters, syrups and liqueurs making their way back to market after many dormant decades. But it’s all born of a shared love: for the romantic feeling that steals over us when sipping drinks from a bygone era, cocktails our grandmothers may have sipped, with a story and social significance bigger than our own. Imbibing such drinks in a room full of guys and dolls in period dress? Somehow, it’s extra intoxicating.

We can’t wait to do it again next fall.

Cin-cin,

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1944 AT THE LUPEC BOSTON “USO SHOW” WITH ANY OF THESE FINE COCKTAILS:

Who is The Liquid Muse?

Editor of TheLiquidMuse.com, mixologist Natalie Bovis-Nelsen watches worldwide drink trends, designs signature cocktails for beverage companies and events, teaches cocktail classes around the U.S. and shakes-and-stirs audiences on TV and radio shows. Natalie consults for beverage companies, and brings high-end mixology philosophies to nonalcoholic cocktails, too. Her book “Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be” ranked among Top Ten Cocktail Books of 2008. Her next book "The Bubbly Bride: Your Ultimate Wedding Cocktail Guide" hits stores in December 2009.
Email: natalie@theliquidmuse.com